JackL
new member
Reged: 03/10/04
Posts: 16
Loc: Seattle
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I have a late '80s or early 90's de Rosa frame. It's a beautiful thing with chromed fork crown and diamond chainstays, but the handling is a bit too quick for me. I'm thinking about having the forks bent (straightened a little) to reduce the offset and increase trail. I would also set the rear wheel all the way back in the dropouts to compensate for the reduced wheelbase and also to move my weight forward on the bike.
Is this a good idea or a bad idea? I don't want to ruin a good frame, but I don't ride it much the way it is now.
Thanks,
JackL
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dbrk
contributor
Reged: 12/18/03
Posts: 201
Loc: Finger Lakes, New York
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Hmmm. I would likely deem this a bad idea unless you know precisely how much rake and trail you are toying with and you have an absolute pro bend the blades. You might be better off with a new steel fork but then you are still playing ducks and drakes with the geometry which has likely little room to move. More trail grants more stability generally speaking but there are certain parameters. I like a lot of trail, on the order of 5.9-6.0, but I'd think many times over before I did such a thing to a basically irreplaceable DeRosa fork. That said, there is nothing about that fork that is all that stellar so you could presumably have a fine builder make a new fork using the same crown (depending on how it comes off with the heat).
It sounds to me like the bike is just not for you. Why not find one that rides more to your liking and retains the classic marque and qualities? Perhaps that is not DeRosa.
dbrk
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JackL
new member
Reged: 03/10/04
Posts: 16
Loc: Seattle
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dbrk,
Thanks for the input. I suppose I could irrevocably screw up the fork and have to buy another. Also, changing fork rake could alter other things in an unforseen way ( the wheelbase would be slightly shortened, putting more of my weight on the front wheel).
I don't believe either of the above would happen. I think I could cold set the fork ends 2-3 mm using hardwood forms and a vise, and the steering would be a tad more steady. The frame is due for a repaint anyway.
HOWEVER, you opened my eyes to what I was doing. What I wanted to do to the de Rosa would be like putting an automatic transmission in a Lotus 7 sports car. The de Rosa geometry is as perfect as the builder could make it. My "improvements" may or may not make the bike better for me but they will most certainly degrade the bike.
I will take your advice and leave the frame alone; If I can't enjoy the bike for what it unapologetically is (a quick-handling bike) I will find a good home for it.
JackL
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Allan
journeyman
Reged: 05/04/04
Posts: 198
Loc: Bds,W I
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Hello JackL,
I thought about your idea to alter the fork in hope of giving you the handling you sought, but to be truthful in the end you are better off to just sell the frame and fork as it is, and look for something with a different geometry, more to your taste.
To some, a twitchy handling bike is great, for others handling like a fully loaded wheel barrow is also fine, so you need to know what the frame you own has in geometry stats that you dont like, and look for another that has geometry more suited to your taste.
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Its time to ride.
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